Return of the $100 PC

On Sunday, CompUSA offered a $99.99 PC from America Online, similar to the $99 and free PC deals offered by Internet giants and start-ups back in 1999 and 2000 in an effort to woo customers. The PC, powered by an Intel Celeron chip and teamed with a monitor and printer, typically would have sold for $549.99, but came with $450 of instant rebates. Only five were allotted to each store.

To get one, customers had to sign up for a year of AOL at $23.90 a month.

Although the offer expired after a day, it represented a low mark for PCs in a year of substantial discounts. And if recent activity is any indication, it or similar deals will be back.